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Summary: Just plain good stuff
Review: This book takes you back to Hartland near the beginning, and I sort of felt like I was at home there since it had been so long since I read about it. Then Nicci comes, captures Richard, you've seen it in the other reviews here so I'll not go into that.I was on the edge of my seat the entire way through this book. That really sums it up. While I don't think it was as good as Wizard's First Rule or Temple of the Winds, it comes right after. The title Faith of the Fallen isn't directly taken from the book either, like Soul of the Fire. It was a nice change too that this wasn't a 6th End of the World story in a row. Sure the Imperial Order is marching around but that would only turn the world to Socialism at worst... 9/10.
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Summary: Can't wait for the next one!
Review: I loved the story twists in this one - I loved the social commentary and the characters - my favorite book in the series and of course it left me wanting to see the next one.
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Summary: Hope Blooms in the Shadows of Oppression
Review: By far the best book of the series in my opinion. It is full of intrigue and twists that will make you both laugh and cry. Richard has taken Kahlan up into the mountains of the Westland to heal after the events of Anderith, and is soon snatched away by a Sister of the Dark known only as the Death's Mistress. Kahlan takes it upon herself to lead the army under D'Haran rule, against the Imperial Order, whilst Richard travels into the heart of the Old World, Altur'Rang, where "Jagang the Just" was born. He is bought to realise what the Order seeks to achieve and seeks to rectify it, through the carving of a beautiful statue, inspiring hope. I love this series! The illustration on the cover, always relates to a section in the book and I love trying to pick out where and when it is. So get book six of the Sword of Truth series, and be prepared to be astounded!
Rating: 
Summary: Satisfying, yet disappointing
Review: Faith of the Fallen picks up where Soul of the Fire left off. It follows several characters while advancing the main storyline. The climax, which brings together major threads in the story, is done in the typical Goodkind fashion, action-filled and satisfying. On the flip side, with this and the previous installment, Goodkind seems to have departed from the usual sword- and sorcery-oriented storytelling. Sure, there are intense battles to whet our appetites, but the principal focus of the book was on the nature of human character and society. As such, while we follow Richard and Nicci's "adventures" in the Old World, perhaps it can't be help that the pace is plodding and the tone annoyingly didactic. Yes, the Order believes that man is inherently evil, yes, those with ability must help those without for the common good, yes, the Order brings equality to all; the point is made, but must it be repeated every chapter by every character? At times, the book reads like "1984" in the Middle Ages. And at times, the book stretches the limit of believability: that the Order is able to dominate a vast society with mind-numbing single-mindedness and unsophisticated fanaticism, that the great wizard and leader Richard would so easily give in to his fate even though he has faced much worse odds before, that in the end a work of art is able to convert the masses. I'm also not happy with the way some characters are handled, or not handled at all. Nothing is mentioned of the major Ander characters from Soul of the Fire, nor of Nathan; Ann appears at the beginning and resurfaced at the end, her role adding nothing to the story; nothing comes up of Ulicia and the other Sisters of the Dark; albeit they're minor characters, the way Harold and Cyrilla turned out are rather uncharacteristic. And, as he has done in the past, Goodkind terminate some important and sympathetic characters rather abruptly; it isn't disappointing that they disappear, but that in doing so they don't affect the plot at all. While, at long last, the vast D'Haran and Imperial Order armies clash, the description of the battles lack the scale, the fury, and the visceral excitement seen in the works of others like Robert Jordan. All of that said, Goodkind brought to life a remarkable character, Nicci, who is probably the most complex, conflicted and dramatic character in the series. This book is a good read, but I yearn for the thrills and the sense of wonder of the previous installments that are conspicuously absent here.
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Summary: Risky for Terry, but excellent anyway
Review: After the last two books I was reading just to see how it turned out. I felt that terry had gotten bored with his characters, which made it boring for the reader. I was surprized that I loved this book, It was refreshing right when I was starting to get really bored with the same old stuff. Mr. Goodkind could have included a couple more windows on what our favorite lead characters were up to, (this seems to have upset quite a few of his readers) but overall I enjoyed the change. If you hate change, even change for the good then you will hate this instalment in the series.
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Summary: Terry Goodkind delivers a powerful philospohical message.
Review: Wow. Terry Goodkind delivers a profound philosophical message through fantasy. Second only to Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead both by Ayn Rand, Faith of the Fallen reveals the evil that is socialism/collectivism. Mind you, as Rand was prone to do, the Imperial Order is a far extreme. It is hard to believe that a government could become something like the Imperial Order but when broken down to the fundamentals, that is exactly what they want to do. Goodkind shows us the rise of the human spirit and just how great man can be. He shows us that one must struggle to give one's life meaning and to bring happiness to oneself. Very good read. I recommend it to all with a philosophical appetite portrayed in a fantasy book. Perhaps, even to those who do not care for fantasy. It's simply that powerful.
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to standard
Review: For me it was a good book, but not up to standard. Richard is getting a little too perfect for my liking. I struggled a little to finish and you need to be an addict to read this book. Hope the next one is better.
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Summary: This is the cream of the crop
Review: Let's be honest. There are very few fantasy writers like Terry Goodkind. This book was one of his best. In fact, it is my second favourite, with Wizard's first Rule being my favourite. Some people will say that Goodkind is being too idealistic with this book. Come on! This is not a political science textbook! If Terry wants to give us some hope even if it may be a bit naive, it is fine with me. Also, some have complained that he paints the Order as unrealistically evil, and that the people there would not be so lazy or hopeless. Look people, if you want realism... don't read fantasy! The core of a good fantasy book is an unimaginable evil that must be crushed and some shining hero(s) that have to save us all! Plus, don't get too upset that Richard is such an unwavering pillar of virtue, since Kahlan is the real main character despite what the back covers say. Face it, Goodkind writes from her point of view over Richard's when they are in the same scene. Anyway, I'm off the point. This book was amazing- definitely worth it!
Rating:
Summary: Not Quite As Good As The Rest
Review: I found this book to be enjoyable overall, but not a five-star book as I have rated the previous books in the series. The major problem is the overly obvious criticism of Communism. O.K., Communism is bad (well, not bad exactly, more like a Utopian ideal that is simply economically inefficient), but besides the fact that Goodkind is about ten years too late in making that argument (who's he arguing with, Cuba, China, and North Korea?), there is no nuance or subtlety to his message. I have no problem with a criticism of Communism, having made one myself in a term paper in a college political science class, but while a term paper SHOULD be obvious, a work of literature should be more subtle. I often felt like I was reading the work of a first-time writer, someone who has not massaged his skills to the point of being able to write effective, non-pulp literature. This is not a feeling I had reading any of the previous Goodkind novels, not even his first one!
I still recommend this book, certainly to any fans of the series. It's just not perfect like the rest.
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Summary: Right wing commentary in fantasy form
Review: Alright i'll start off by describing the good things about this book. He is very good at describing scenery and battles. His side characters are all very interesting people, especially the mord-sith and their conflicts stemming from their trauma. also zedd and warren are still around, for a while, in fact, his side characters are more interesting than the main ones. Ok there now i'm done. On to the problems.
Goodkind tries to create a character that is far too wholly perfect. Richard never does anything wrong ever throughout the entire book. In fact throughout the entire series. Even if it seems like he's doing something stupid it turns out to be exactly what he was supposed to do through some bizarre twist of fat. This was interesting the first few times, when the reader actually doesn't think he's going to pull it off, but after a while it just gets tiresom. He learns how to sculpt something that changes an entire empire's way of thought, and he learns how to do this in how many months?
The political commentary is endless and heavy handed. His views get made exceedingly clear to us throughout the 400 pages that richard spends in the imperial order. The obvious imperial order=soviet union/liberals/unitednations seems to go a bit too far. His view of the poor is rather insulting and skiewed also, basically his message is if your poor it's because your mean, stupid and lazy and it's your fault. This might have been pulled off had he done it in some clever subtle way, subtlety doesn't seem to be the right wing's strong point, but he declines to even bother.
The imperial order is an empire where socialist ideals, with some twists like being hyper religious instead of humanist atheists, have run completely amok and destroyed society. There are no advantages whatsoever to living in the imperial order. it is utterly evil.Unions keep any work from being done, people are selfish, and the government stomps on the throat of the masses to build a massive new palace. Along comes perfect richard who shows how you can work for yourself, because you know i'm sure none of the starving peasents had thought of that, and change your life for the better.
I have to say that is what got to me the most. Being liberal myself I found being called the epitome of evil somwhat insulting. If the book had had some great unpredictable plot twist or brilliant style it would have made up for it. It didn't though. It's very easy to create a fantasy world where your ideals work exactly how you think they should. Real life may be a little different.
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